My Salty Rant for the Summer!

Before anyone mentions it, I understand that a lot of games seem to annoy me and please don’t think I am a regular ‘salter’! (I’ve just learned what this slang means so I am keen to use it and any of its derivatives at every opportunity!). I always need a game that I just log into have a ‘blast’ with when I have got a few minutes to spare. Usually this has been Overwatch but recently I have become ‘salty’ with this game and so I have turned to another – Hearthstone. But I am finding that both games are causing me some ‘salt’….

I think I might be over using the use of the world ‘salt’ so I will stop now. I hope I have used it enough to prove my trendiness! So this post is going to be slightly different to the generally layout of other waffles, i.e. it is probably going to lose the intro, three points and conclusion layout. I just want to talk freely without the defines of structure…or really I can’t be bothered to follow it this weekend..

What’s happened to Overwatch? – There was a time that I really enjoyed playing Overwatch. Initially I played Lucio and later moved onto Torb. Yes I got a lot of hassle at times for choosing the turret dropping dwarf, especially on attack, but generally everything was good and I enjoyed the games. But now the general flow of the game have changed as has the chat/voice comments. There appears to be a regular team composition at the moment, and if you want to play Hanzo, Black Widow, Genji or DVa, then you have to be very quick off the mark to get these. If you do get them, then a complete battle appears to break out in chat with people quoting levels and playing ranks and expertise. Then, if they don’t get their way, they leave and the game has to restart. There also appears to be terms which I am not sure about like 2 by 2? I always thought this was a measurement for a plank of wood? Within the game, there is a low of ‘camping’ the spawn until they win or focusing one person over and over again to much hilarity in the chat. And talking about the chat, at the end of the game there are the comments – lots of ‘*****’ comments and the word noobs and messages of self expression. It’s unbelievable. It is as if the average age of the game has changed from 25 to 5. Overwatch has definitely changed and, although I keep going back in the hope that something positive had happened, I only manage one or two games before the name calling and camping tactics start again and I press the ‘Quit’ button.

Hearthstone characters and their cards – One of the games I have started to play in an attempt to fill the Overwatch ‘gap’ is Hearthstone. I quite like this game because it has the feel of the old Magic the Gathering which I use to love. I like the idea of playing a specific type of character with a specific designed deck and heading into combat with other similar players. Initially I started to play a hunter but then thought I might have a go at playing a Priest. I searched the cards and tried to put together a deck which maintain a ‘priest’ feel. Healing, power words, holy shields and knights and clerics which I summoned to protect me. I was really pleased with my deck and headed off into combat with a Rogue! The game started and, after gaining some mana points I summoned my cleric – ha! I thought, Mr Rogue, how are you going to match my cleric. Well the Rogue did match it with a crocodile! What! How on earth did I rogue use a crocodile? Was it hiding in his pocket? After this it went downhill and even though I had a limited number of cards on the table which I tried to continual shield and heal, the rogue (remember s/he is a rogue) summoned forth crocodiles, a troll with taunt and finally, and this was when I really did dismay, a Tundra Yeti! I am completely baffled what these cards have to do with the rogue character! It would appear that the character you choose to play really has no relevance or restrictions to the cards you hold in your deck, with, apart from your class only cards, players appear to be using the ‘best’ cards to defeat their opponents. Has the game already reached the point of ‘You must have these cards in your deck to win?” position.

Okay – rant over. I know I might be searching for perfection here or might just be lacking tolerance. I always thing that every character and class should be playable within a game and that the game should be able to be won by just playing the game rather than having to read a whole load of guides and forums in order to create the best build/deck. I know progression is important and that it is important to win, but surely this should be an option for every class/creation. Also, and I must say this, the winning can’t be the only focus of the game, surely enjoyment must be the first and the most important factor. I like variation and differences within games. If I am going to play a character or deck then I should be reassured that I can play that without being penalised because of my choice. I also think that each and ever character should have its advantages and disadvantages and that there should be a degree of specialisation in order to maintain that ‘uniqueness’ of the classes. If every deck in Hearthstone is ultimately the same, why have different characters?

Well I’m off back to both games to try and enjoy them – Maybe I’ll play more Lucio since people never complain about the healer! And, as for Hearthstone, I feel a Paladin coming on – Knights of the Waffle unite!